Ex Aquino ally files TRO before Supreme Court on 2012 national budget

MANILA, Philippines—A former ally of President Benigno Aquino III asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order against the 2012 government budget.

Batangas 2nd District Representative Hermilando Mandanas, in his petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus said he wanted the government to include the collection of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) into the Internal Revenue Allotment computation.

“The National Government, in the persons of the Respondents, should automatically release the Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA) or the just shares of the Local Government Units (LGUs) in the national taxes as determined by law.  The unreleased amount due to the Provinces, Cities, Municipalities and Barangays from 1992 to 2012 has already reached P500 Billion.  Compliance by the National Government with the Constitution and existing laws will enable the LGUs to efficiently and expediently serve the Filipino people, and hasten the delivery of much needed and long delayed basic services,” Mandanas said in his petition.

Mandanas explained the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has not been including the collections of the BOC of the National Internal Revenue taxes in the legally mandated revenue base to compute the IRA for the LGUs since 1992 to 2012.

“And when included in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and other applicable laws, then, the LGUs should receive P498,854,388, 154.93 or very close to P500 billion.”

Mandanas said he exhausted all administrative remedies and even sent letters to the President, Vice President, Department of Finance (DoF), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Interior Local Government (DILG), Commission on Audit (COA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Justice (DoJ), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Bureau of Treasury and the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF). This issue was also presented to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) but no action was taken.

Mandanas recently severed ties with Aquino accusing the Liberal Party of forcing House members into signing the articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Mandanas disclosed that he decided to bolt out of the party after a falling out with the House leadership that stripped him of the chairmanship of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means.